We talk to Ian Johns, who works as Assistant Director of Operations in London Ambulance Service, having joined through the international recruitment campaign. Around 280 paramedics from Australia have joined London Ambulance Service since recruitment began overseas in 2014, and a further 270 will begin their training between January – March of 2016. The latest plans to return are just one of the many ways that London Ambulance Service is hoping to combat the national shortage of paramedics in the UK.
The Service has also implemented a number of new initiatives to develop paramedics from the UK, including a new education academy which gives existing ambulance crew the opportunity to progress and partnerships with Universities to ensure roles for graduate paramedics.
